God's word | What Is Your Understanding of God?

Eastern Lightning | God's word | What Is Your Understanding of God?

People have long believed in God, yet most of them have no understanding of what the word “God” means, and merely follow in bewilderment. They have no clue as to why exactly man should believe in God, or what God is. If people know only to believe in and follow God, but not what God is, and if they also do not know God, then is this not just a great big joke? Even though, having come this far, people have witnessed many heavenly mysteries, and have heard much profound knowledge never before understood by man, they are ignorant of many of the most elementary truths never before contemplated by man. Some might say, “We have believed in God for many years. How could we not know what God is? Does this question not belittle us?” In reality, however, though people follow Me today, they know nothing of any of the work of today, and fail to grasp even the most obvious and easiest of questions, let alone such highly complex ones as those about God. Know that the questions that you have no concern for, that you have not identified, are the ones that are most important for you to understand, for you know only to follow the crowd, paying no attention and giving no care to what you should be equipping yourself with. Do you truly know why you should have faith in God? Do you really know what God is? Do you truly know what man is? As a person who has faith in God, if you fail to understand these things, do you not lose the dignity of a believer of God? My work today is this: to have people understand their essence, understand all that I do, and know the true face of God. This is the closing act of My management plan, the last stage of My work. That is why I am telling you all of life’s mysteries in advance, so that you can accept them from Me. As this is the work of the final age, I must tell you all the truths of life that you have never been receptive to before, even though you are incapable of understanding or bearing them due to being simply too deficient and too ill-equipped. I shall conclude My work; I shall complete the work I am supposed to do, and shall tell you of all I have commissioned of you, lest you again stray and fall for the evil one’s schemes when darkness descends. There are many ways that you do not understand, many matters of which you have no knowledge. You are so ignorant; I know full well your stature and your shortcomings. Therefore, though there are many words you are incapable of understanding, I am still willing to tell you all these truths that you have never been receptive to before, because I keep worrying whether, in your current stature, you are able to stand firm in your testimony to Me. It is not that I think little of you; you are all beasts that have yet to undergo My formal training, and I absolutely cannot see how much glory is within you. Though I have expended much energy working on you, the positive elements in you seem practically nonexistent, and the negative elements can be counted on one’s fingers and serve only as testimonies that bring shame on Satan. Just about everything else in you is Satan’s poison. You look to Me like you are beyond salvation. Therefore, as matters stand, I look at your various demeanors, and I finally know your true stature. This is why I am always fretting over you: Left to live life on their own, would humans really be better off than or comparable to how they are today? Does your infantile stature not make you anxious? Can you truly be like the chosen people of Israel—loyal to Me, and to Me alone, at all times? What is revealed in you is not the mischievousness of children who have strayed from their parents, but the beastliness that bursts forth from animals that are out of reach of their masters’ whips. You should know your nature, which is also the weakness that you all share; it is an ailment common to you all. Thus, My only exhortation to you today is to stand firm in your testimony to Me. Do not, under any circumstances, allow the old ailment to flare up again. Bearing testimony is what’s most important—it is the heart of My work. You should accept My words just as Mary accepted Jehovah’s revelation that came to her in a dream: by believing, and then obeying. Only this qualifies as being chaste. For you are the ones who hear My words the most, the ones most blessed by Me. I have given you all My valuable possessions, I have bestowed everything upon you, yet you are of such vastly different status to the people of Israel; you are simply worlds apart. But compared to them, you have received so much more; while they desperately await My appearance, you pass pleasant days with Me, sharing My bounty. Given this difference, what gives you the right to squawk and squabble with Me and demand your share of My possessions? Have you not gained much? I give you so much, but what you give Me in return is just heartrending sadness and anxiety, irrepressible resentment and discontent. You are so repugnant—yet you are also pitiable, so I have no choice but to swallow all My resentment and voice My objections to you again and again. Over thousands of years of work, I have never remonstrated with mankind because I have discovered that, throughout humanity’s development, it is only the “hoaxes” among you that have become the most renowned, like precious inheritances left to you by famous ancestors of ancient times. How I hate those subhuman swine and dogs. You are too lacking in conscience! You are of too base a character! Your hearts are too hardened! If I had taken such words and work to the Israelites, I would have gained glory long ago. But among you this is unattainable; among you, there is only cruel neglect, your cold shoulder, and your excuses. You are too unfeeling, and utterly worthless!

Why is God called by different names in different ages? What are the significances of God’s names?

The Church of Almighty God | Why is God called by different names in different ages? What are the significances of God’s names?

Relevant Words of God:

You should know that God originally had no name. He only took on one, or two, or many names because He had work to do and had to manage mankind. Whatever name He is called by, isn’t it freely chosen by Him? Does He need you, a creature, to decide it? The name by which God is called is according to what man can apprehend and the language of man, but this name cannot be encapsulated by man.

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Gospel Movie Clip "Yearning" (2) - Do You Understand the Mystery of God's Appearance?

Many believers in the Lord believe that the Lord will return in glory, descending on a cloud and appearing to all peoples, so they are always gazing at the clouds in the sky, waiting for the Lord to come down on a cloud, and to be raptured up into the heavens and meet with Him. Is this belief in line with the truth? How should one understand God's appearance and work? What kind of mysteries does the appearance of God contain?

Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—the end-time Christ, “Almighty God”—in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared.

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Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected

Utterances of Almighty God-Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected

　　In the last days, God became flesh to do the work He ought to do and to perform His ministry of words. He came in person to work amidst human beings with the goal of perfecting those people who are after His heart. From the creation up until today He only does that work during the last days. Only during the last days was God incarnated to do such large-scale work. Though He endures hardships that people would find difficult to endure, though He as a great God has the humility to become an ordinary man, no aspect of His work has been delayed, and His plan is not thrown into confusion in the least. He is doing the work according to His original plan. One of the purposes of this incarnation is to conquer people. Another is to perfect the people He loves. He desires to see with His own eyes the people He perfects, and He wants to see for Himself how the people He perfects bear witness for Him. It is not one person who is perfected, and it is not two. It is however, a group of very few people. This group of people come from various countries of the world, and from various of the world’s nationalities. The purpose of doing this much work is to gain this group of people, to gain the witness this group of people bear for Him, and to obtain the glory He gets through this group of people. He does not do work that has no significance, nor does He do work that has no value. It can be said that, in doing so much work, God’s aim is to perfect all those whom He wishes to perfect. In what spare time He has outside of this, He will eliminate those who are evil. Know that He does not do this great work because of those who are evil; on the contrary, He gives His all because of that tiny number of people who are to be perfected by Him. The work He does, the words He speaks, the mysteries He reveals, and His judgment and chastisement are all for the sake of that tiny number of people. He did not become flesh because of those who are evil, much less do they incite great wrath in Him. He speaks truth, and talks of entry, because of those who are to be perfected, He became flesh because of them, and it is because of them that He bestows His promises and blessings. The truth, entry, and life in humanity of which He speaks are not for the sake of those who are evil. He wants to avoid speaking to those who are evil, and wishes to bestow all truths upon those who are to be perfected. Yet His work requires that, for the moment, those who are evil be allowed to enjoy some of His riches. Those who do not carry out truth, who do not satisfy God, and who interrupt His work are all evil. They cannot be perfected, and are loathed and rejected by God. Conversely, the people who put truth into practice and can satisfy God and who expend their entire selves in God’s work are the people who are to be perfected by God. The ones whom God wishes to complete are none other than this group of people, and the work that God does is for the sake of these people. The truth of which He speaks is directed toward the people who are willing to put it into practice. He does not speak to the people who do not put truth into practice. The increase of insight and growth of discernment that He speaks of are aimed at the people who can carry out truth. When He speaks of those who are to be perfected He is talking of these people. The work of the Holy Spirit is directed toward the people who can practice truth. Things like owning wisdom and having humanity are directed toward the people who are willing to put truth into practice. Those who do not carry out truth may hear many truths and may comprehend many truths, but because they are among the evil persons, the truth that they understand only becomes doctrines and words, and has no significance for their change of disposition or for their lives. None of them is loyal to God; they are all people who see God but cannot obtain Him, and are all condemned by God.

Eastern Lightning | The Hymn of God's Word "God Has Made a Group of Overcomers in China"

God Has Made a Group of Overcomers in China

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Understand that as one who believes in God, in receiving His work in the last days, you've received glory and salvation as God works His plan through you. God's work in the universe has focused on you. All of His efforts have been devoted to you. God has sacrificed everything for you, and bestowed the work of the Spirit upon you. You are the fortunate, the lucky ones. He has shifted His glory from Israel to manifest His plan through you, the heirs to His glory and inheritance. You are the fortunate, the lucky ones. He has shifted His glory from Israel to manifest His plan through you, the heirs to His glory and inheritance.

Eastern Lightning | The Hymn of God's Word "The Countenance of the Kingdom's King Is Glorious Beyond Compare"

I

God has made a new beginning on Earth, so on Earth He has found His glory. The final prospect is so beauteous God cannot keep the pride in His breast from swelling. God's heart is beating, and the hills leap for joy in time. The waters dance merrily, and the waves keep time, slapping against the rocks. God's heart is ineffable. From this we see, what God plans is just what He has made, is what He's foreordained, and asks that man should experience, that man should see.

Eastern Lightning | The Hymn of God's Word "To Bear Witness for God Is Man's Duty"

To Bear Witness for God Is Man's Duty

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God bestows you with life; it's a gift you receive from Him. And so it's your duty to bear witness to Him. God gives you His glory, His life the Israelites didn't have. And so you must devote your life and youth to Him. You've got God's glory, so you must bear God's witness. It's ordained.

II

It's your good fortune to be given God's glory. And so it's your duty to testify to His glory. If you believe in God only to gain blessings, His work won't be meaningful, and you won't fulfill your duty. You've got God's glory, so you must bear God's witness. It's ordained.

from “What Do You Know of Faith?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Eastern Lightning| When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth

　　Almighty God says, "The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone who is rational and accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of truth and read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000 of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life."

Eastern Lightning| Almighty God's Word "What a Real Man Means" | Eastern Lightning

　　Almighty God says, "However you should know, the humans I created were holy men with My image and My glory. They were not originally of Satan, nor subjected to its trampling, but purely My manifestation, free of the slightest trace of its poison. Thus, I let everyone know that I only want that which was created by My hand, My beloved pure ones that never belonged to any other entity. Furthermore, I will take pleasure in them and see them as My glory. However, what I want is not the mankind corrupted by Satan, belonging to Satan today, which is no longer My original creation. Because I want to repossess My glory in the human world, I will gain complete conquest over the remaining survivors of mankind, as the proof of My glory in My victory over Satan. I only take My testimony as My crystallization, as the object of My enjoyment. Such is My intention."

Eastern Lightning| The Nineteenth Utterance

It is mankind’s proper occupation to take My words as the basis for his survival. Man must establish his individual portion in each and every part of My words; not to do so would be asking for trouble, seeking his own destruction. Humanity does not know Me, and because of this, instead of bringing his own life to Me to offer in exchange, all he does is parade in front of Me with the trash in his hands, trying thereby to give Me satisfaction. But, far from being satisfied by things as they are, I keep on making demands of humanity. I love man’s tribute, but hate his extortions. All men have hearts filled with greed; it is as if the human heart is in thrall to the devil, and man is unable to break free and offer his heart up to Me. When I speak, man listens to My voice in rapt attention; but when I stop speaking, he starts again on his own “enterprise” and ceases entirely to heed My words, as if My words were an adjunct to his “enterprise.” I have never been lax with humanity, and yet I have also been long-suffering and magnanimous with humanity. And so, because of My leniency, human beings have all grown overweening, incapable of self-knowledge and self-reflection, and they take advantage of My forbearance to deceive Me. Not a single one among them sincerely cares for Me, and not a single one truly treasures Me as an object dear to his heart; only when they have idle moments to spare do they give Me their perfunctory regard. The effort I have expended on man is already beyond measure. I have wrought on man an unprecedented kind of work, and apart from this, I have given him an additional burden, in order that, out of what I have and what I am, man might gain in knowledge and undergo a change. I do this not to make man into a mere consumer, but to make him into a producer capable of inflicting defeat on Satan. Though I may not demand anything of man, nonetheless I do have standards for the demands I make, for there is a purpose in what I do, as well as principles in accordance with which I act: I do not, as man imagines, play around haphazardly, nor do I, in willful capriciousness, fashion the heavens and earth and the myriad things of creation. In My working, man should be able to see something, gain something. He should not squander away the springtime of his “youth,” or treat his own life like a garment on which dust is carelessly allowed to gather; rather, he should stand strict guard over himself, taking from My bounty to provide for his own enjoyment, until, for My sake, he cannot turn back toward Satan, and for My sake he mounts an attack against Satan. Isn’t what I ask of man as simple as this?

Christian Song | "God Is Abundantly Merciful and Profoundly Wrathful" | Eastern Lightning

Christian Song | "God Is Abundantly Merciful and Profoundly Wrathful" | Eastern Lightning

It is so real and it's so true God's mercy and God's tolerance exist, but when He unleashes His wrath, His holiness and righteousness also show man the side of God that brooks no offense.

I

When man can fully follow and obey the commands of God and acts in accordance to the requirements of God, God is abundant and plentiful in His mercy toward man; when man has been filled with corruption, filled with hatred and enmity for Him, God will show profound anger. And to what extent His anger will be (anger will be)? His wrath will keep on (wrath will keep on) till He sees no more (He sees no more), no more man's evil deeds and resistance (and resistance), till they are no longer before His eyes (His eyes). And to what extent His anger will be (anger will be)? His wrath will keep on (wrath will keep on) till He sees no more (sees no more), no more man's evil deeds and resistance (and resistance), till they are no longer before His eyes (His eyes). Only (only) at that time (at that time) will God's anger disappear (God’s anger disappear).

God's untterance | The Sixteenth Utterance

Eastern Lightning | God's untterance | The Sixteenth Utterance

There is so much that I wish to say to man, so many things that I must tell him. But man’s abilities of acceptance are too lacking: He is incapable of fully grasping My words according to that which I provide, and only understands one aspect but remains ignorant of the other. Yet I do not put man to death because of his powerlessness, nor am I aggrieved by his weakness. I merely do My work, and speak as I have always done, even though man does not understand My will; when the day comes, people will know Me in the depths of their hearts, and will remember Me in their thoughts. When I depart from this earth will exactly be when I ascend to the throne in man’s heart, which is to say, it will be when all men know Me. So, too, will it be when My sons and people rule over the earth. Those who know Me will assuredly become the pillars of My kingdom, and none but they will be qualified to rule and wield power in My kingdom. All those who know Me are possessed of My being, and able to live out Me among all men. I care not to what extent man knows Me: No one can hinder My work in any way, and man can offer Me no assistance and do nothing for Me. Man can only follow My guidance in My light, and seek My will in this light. Today, people have become qualified, and believe they can strut about in front of Me, and laugh and joke with Me without the slightest inhibition, and address Me as an equal. Still man does not know Me, still he believes that in essence we are about the same, that we are both of flesh and blood, and both dwell in the human world. His reverence for Me is too meager; he reveres Me when he is before Me, but is incapable of serving Me before the Spirit. It is as if, for man, the Spirit does not exist at all. As a result, no man has ever known the Spirit; in My incarnation, people see only a body of flesh and blood, and do not perceive the Spirit of God. Can My will really be accomplished in such a way? People are experts at deceiving Me; they seem to have been specially trained by Satan in order to fool Me. Yet I am untroubled by Satan. I will still use My wisdom to conquer the whole of mankind and to defeat the corrupter of all mankind, in order that My kingdom may be established on earth.

Eastern Lightning| Almighty God's Word "Knowing God's Work Today" | The Church of Almighty God

　　Almighty God says, "The work done by God during this age is chiefly the provision of the words for the life of man, the disclosure of the substance of the nature of man and the corrupt disposition of man, the elimination of religious conceptions, feudal thinking, outdated thinking, as well as the knowledge and culture of man. This must all be laid bare and cleansed away through the words of God. In the last days, God uses words, and not signs and wonders, to make man perfect. He uses His words to expose man, to judge man, to chastise man, and to make man perfect, so that in the words of God, man comes to see the wisdom and loveliness of God, and comes to understand the disposition of God, so that through the words of God, man beholds the deeds of God."

Eastern Lightning| The Fifteenth Utterance

Man is a creature without self-knowledge. Yet, unable to know himself, he nevertheless knows everyone else like the palm of his hand, as though all others have first passed his “inspection” and received his approval before they say or do anything, and hence as though he has taken the full measure of all others down to their psychological state. Human beings are all like this. Man has entered into the Age of Kingdom today, but his nature remains unchanged. He still does as I do in front of Me, but behind My back he starts getting up to his own unique “business.” Once that’s over and he comes before Me again, however, he is like a different person, seeming audaciously calm, features composed, pulse steady. Is this not precisely what makes man so despicable? How many people wear two completely different faces, one in front of Me and another one behind My back? How many of them are like newborn lambs before Me but behind Me turn into ravening tigers, and then become like little birds flitting merrily about in the hills? How many show purpose and resolve in front of Me? How many come before Me, seeking My words with thirst and longing but, behind My back, grow sick of them and renounce them, as though My words were an encumbrance? So many times, seeing the human race corrupted by My enemy, I have given up placing My hopes in mankind. So many times, seeing man come before Me in tears to sue for pardon, but on account of his lack of self-respect, his stubborn incorrigibility, I have closed My eyes to his action in anger, even when his heart is genuine and his intentions sincere. So many times, I see man capable of having faith to cooperate with Me, and how, before Me, he seems to be lying in My embrace, tasting the warmth of My embrace. So many times, seeing the innocence, liveliness, and loveliness of My chosen people, in My heart I have always taken pleasure on account of these things. Human beings know not how to enjoy their predestined blessing in My hands, because they do not know what is ultimately meant by either blessing or suffering. For this reason, mankind is far from sincere in their quest for Me. If there were no such thing as tomorrow, which of you, standing before Me, would be as white as the driven snow, as unspotted as pure jade? Surely your love for Me is not something that can be exchanged for a delicious meal, or a classy suit of clothes, or high office with handsome emoluments? Or can it be exchanged for the love that others bear you? Surely, undergoing trial will not drive man to abandon his love for Me? Surely, suffering and tribulation will not cause him to complain against what I have arranged? No man has ever truly appreciated the sword in My mouth: He knows only its surface meaning without truly grasping the inner. If human beings were genuinely able to see the sharpness of My sword, they would go scurrying like rats into their holes. Because of their numbness, human beings understand nothing of the true meaning of My words, and so they have no clue as to how formidable My words are, or just how much of their nature is revealed, and how much of their corruption has received judgment, within those words. For this reason, based on their half-baked ideas about My words, most people have taken up a lukewarm and noncommittal attitude.

Eastern Lightning| Live for God Resolutely - "I Wish to See the Day God Gains Glory" (Official Music Video)

I Wish to See the Day God Gains Glory

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Today I suffer for God; tomorrow I will inherit God’s blessings.

To see the day God gains glory, I’m willing to give up my youth and offer up my whole life.

Ah! God’s love has enchanted my heart,

and I can never leave You again.

I’m willing to drink up the bitter cup, and exchange my whole life for sufferings.

I don’t complain about wrongs or humiliations. I’m willing to repay God’s grace all my life.